Department of Psychology

WELCOME TO DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

You are welcome to the Department of Psychology, where future academic and leaders are trained to develop their full potentials. The Programme of Psychology which was established in 2012/2013 academic session awards degree in general Psychology. Psychology as a discipline strikes a balance between Social Sciences and Science disciplines. Psychology Department at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, strives to be a world-class department with diverse research interests in all spheres of human behaviour including social, clinical, health, family, industrial/organisational, crime and deviance, social theory, forensic, experimental, identity and integration/cohesion, religion issues among others. Psychology Department is also offering ancillary services to other sister programme/and or departments as well as receiving from them. Indeed, this uncommon level of interdisciplinary interactions provides an exceptional environment for learning, teaching and research.

Generally, the goal of the Psychology Department is to offer students with a wide milieu in the various multi-level analysis and methodological approaches used in the study of human behaviour. Students can gain research training, experience in a wide variety of community settings, and tailor course selections to meet their long-term aspirations. Furthermore, the curriculum in psychology is targeted to improve one’s understanding of behavioral science and of oneself and others in terms of concepts developed by study. Undergraduate courses in psychology give students an opportunity to discover and internalise what research has revealed about:

• How behavior is initiated and motivated
• The way individuals perceive, learn, think, and act
• Individual differences
• How personality develops across different life stages: from infancy to maturity and is expressed by behavior
• How interpersonal factors affect human relationships in the home, at work places, and in the community.

Members of staff of Psychology Department have expertise in Social Psychology, Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Personnel Management, School Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Positive Psychology and so on. Our undergraduate curricula are firmly anchored on the principle of providing the fundamental knowledge needed to be fluent, critical and competitive in the new, rapidly and unfolding areas of management and social/behavioural sciences and health sciences. We believe in praxis (learning by doing). Therefore, we make it a matter of departmental policy for our students to strive to apply what they learn to test and understand their immediate environment and beyond. Our expectation is that students who graduate from the Department of Psychology at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) will be world’s next generation of leading academicians, researchers, behavioural scientists, health professionals, astute leaders, teachers and public servants.

The AE-FUNAI website provides in-depth information about us. It highlights each faculty member and his/her research interests, our teaching philosophy and the courses we offer as well as our administrative staff. The Department also provides an exceptional educational and research environment for talented individuals who dream of uncovering new frontiers in the field of social and behavioural sciences. Upon graduation with a degree in Psychology, our products have vast employment opportunities in Law Enforcement/Security Agencies, Academics, Research Centers, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Business Organisations, Human Services Careers, Mental Health Careers, Business Careers, Careers in Education, Advertising Agents, Career Counsellors, Case Manager, Child Care Worker, Laboratory Assistant, Market Researcher, Psychiatric Technician, Probation and Parole Officer, Rehabilitation Specialist, Sales Representative, Social Service Specialists, Teachers, Writer among others.

HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology started in 2012/2013 academic year, as one of the foundation programmes in the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) which was one of the nine (9) Federal Universities established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2011. Currently, students are admitted through UTME, AE-FUNAI pre-degree programme and JAMB direct entry. The programme started with two (02) students and three (3) academic staff in the following order: one Senior Lecturer, and two academic staff in Lecturers II positions. The programme has continued to expand and grow. Today, Psychology has assumed full status as an Independent Department.

Philosophy of the Degree Programme in Psychology

Generally, Psychology seeks to discover patterns, using facts, principles and generalizations, in order to increase knowledge, understanding and control of behaviour in various social and cultural settings, groups, institutions and organizations. The Philosophy behind the Psychology curriculum at Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) is to equip students with skills, concepts and abilities which can help them to understand, predict, condition, control and change human and animal behaviours for the overall social, economic, political and national development of Nigeria and the world at large.

Aims and Objectives of the Degree Programme in Psychology

(i) To instill in Psychology students a sense of enthusiasm for and identity with Psychology as a profession; an appreciation of its application in different contexts, and environments, and to involve students in an intellectually stimulating and satisfying experience of learning and studying.

(ii) To provide students with a broad and balanced foundation of psychological knowledge and practical skills.

(iii) To develop in Psychology students the ability to apply their psychological knowledge and skills (such as analysis of behavioural etiology, patterns, prevalence and epidemiology; using the principles of cognition, learning, motivation, emotion, adjustment, conflicts, attitudes, beliefs, values, intelligence, personality, leadership and inter personal skills etc) in proffering solutions to theoretical and practical problems of psychology and society.

(iv) To develop in students, through an education in psychology, a range of transferable skills of value in psychological, social, organizational, industrial, educational, health and cultural employment environments, by the use of generative and creative methods of social engineering.

(v) To provide students with a knowledge and skill base from which they can proceed to further studies in specialized areas of psychology (such as health, clinical), IT organizational, industrial, managerial, artificial intelligence, social, Human Resources Management, political; educational, forensic, environmental psychology, etc) or multi disciplinary areas involving psychology.

(vi) To generate in students an appreciation of the importance of psychology in a Developing World Society like Nigeria in relation to industrial, economic, environmental and socio-cultural contexts, issues, problems and policies especially as they relate to existential and epistemological values, attitudes and beliefs.

Achievements

The Programme of Psychology faced National University Commission regular accreditation in October 2015 and was accorded interim status. In 2018, the Programme got full accreditation from National University Commission (NUC). The Department of Psychology has embarked on establishment of facilities that enhance training of her students and staff development. For examples, Psychology Department has established Psychology Laboratory and Psychological Services Centre. Moreover, the final year students of psychology are exposed to on-the-job experience  in social, clinical, and industrial settings through postings to Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AEFUTHA), Therapeutic Day Care Centre Enugu (TDCC), and Nigerian Prisons Services (NPS), Nigerian Military settings, the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Breweries Limited among others.

The students of Psychology Department have persistently participated in the Professor Isidore Obot National Quiz Competition (PIONQC), a project of Nigerian Psychological association (NPA). In 2018, the students of Psychology Department of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, emerged champion among all the universities in the South-eastern Nigeria and became the first runners-up (second position) at the national level. In 2019 edition of the competition, Psychology students of Alex Ekwueme Federal University defeated their contemporaries across all the Nigerian Universities to emerge the 2019 PIONQC undisputed Champion.

Above all, the Department of Psychology has received NUC approval to establish postgraduate programmes in some specialised areas such Clinical Psychology, Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Social Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Experimental Psychology etc.

Welcome to the Department of Psychology, where excellence reigns.